46. Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas

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Roberto Luongo dominated during the regular season and choked again the playoffs. Tim Thomas wasn't the starter in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, but had a fantastic season last year, winning the Stanley Cup and the Vezina.

Which goaltenders will we see in 2011-12? And who will be the best goaltender next season?

39. Trade Deadline

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The NHL trade deadline could be very active next season.

The Philadelphia Flyers may be looking to trade Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Burke could finally get his center and there are plenty of pending RFAs and UFAs that might be moved, if their negotiations aren't going well.

36. New Head Coaches

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There are five new head coaches in the NHL beginning 2011-12.

Glen Gulutzan is the new head coach of the Dallas Stars, Mike Yeo will be the new face behind the bench of the Minnesota Wild, the Florida Panthers hired Kevin Dineen, Peter DeBoer moved from Florida to the New Jersey Devils and finally, Claude Noel will be the first head coach for the new Winnipeg Jets.

It will be interesting to see how each of the new coaches adjust to their new roles.

26. The Sale of the Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars are another NHL franchise looking for new ownership.

The last interested party was Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi and speculation had Mark Cuban looking into the team, since the Stars share the arena where his Dallas Mavericks play and he's quite wealthy.

Could a sale happen soon, during the season perhaps?

If Cuban is actually interested and its not just speculation, at the moment he doesn't have much else going on with the NBA lockout.

8. The New Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have a couple of high-profile new additions. They acquired Jeff Carter from the Philadelphia Flyers and signed James Wisniewski after acquiring his rights from the Montreal Canadiens.

4. Opening Night

As stated earlier, we're all just excited for the NHL season to get underway. The 2011-12 season's opening night, Thursday October 6, has a fantastic lineup:

The Boston Bruins will host the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. It will be the first time the two teams meet since the Bruins swept the Flyers in the ECSF en route to their Stanley Cup win.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Montreal Canadiens. A great historic rivalry is a great way to kick off another season.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at 10 p.m. EST, a game that will see the much awaited return of Evgeni Malkin and perhaps, the much anticipated return of Sidney Crosby.